I’m hitting the road this morning with a 400 mile drive to Kentucky!
Chances are as this posts I’ll already BE on the road –with a stop at the dentist first to see what can be done with that pesky broken bicuspid.
It’s okay. It’s going to be taken care of, and that is all I care about. Likely not today, but I’ll have it looked at and we will map out a plan. Once there is a plan I can move forward!
And most of all, always remember and never forget:
“Numb is your friend!”
So to kick off this driving trip to retreat in Kentucky I thought we’d have some fun with a super duper colossal Quiltmaker Magazine Gift-Away!
This was yesterday afternoon about 3pm, just across the state line from Virginia into North Carolina.
I absolutely love coming up over the rise and seeing this stretched before me on my way to Sparta. And then on to Elkin…finally making my way to I-77 and then to highway 421 and on to I-40 that takes me home.
I don’t enjoy the interstates nearly as much as I love the back roads and two-lane highways. And the winding ones? I was laughing as stuff was sliding around in the back of the van which was mostly empty. Since our move, we’ve left the second row of seats out of the van to haul more “STUFF”. Let’s just say it was good that I didn’t have watermelons or bowling balls back there because they would have played bumper pool with every curve.
May we always remember and never forget those who gave their lives for the freedoms we share and take for granted each and every day.
And may we remember the wives, sweethearts and families who also paid the ultimate price as their loved ones gave so much for us in the service of our country.
They are never forgotten as long as those of us still here remember.
I especially love my facebook newsfeed on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day as the sepia toned and black and white photos of family members from younger days are shared in remembrance. To look into the eyes of those who are no longer with us is a humbling experience.
I’m not just talking about those who lost their lives in wars of long ago. A quilter friend I know posted a photo of her brother, who more recently lost his life in Afghanistan. Memorial Day is not just for those long past, but for those recently gone as well.
And lest you think I am doing A LOT of work out here, basically I’m not allowed to touch power tools, but I have been employed to hold things, stand on things, move things and bring things.
I have a lot of appreciation for what goes into building buildings. It’s hard work. Back breaking, heavy lifting, exacting work.
It’s a vintage jar full of all of those random yet interesting sewing machine attachments including mis-matched feet, rufflers, binders, bobbins and cases ---We thought this was a cool idea for all of those items that are left over with no machine to go with them.
Attachment art!
We were set loose for some exploring time in between the departure of retreat group 1 and the arrival of retreat group 2 and we took a couple of hours to poke around before joining with the group 2 ladies for dinner.
An antique mall and craft/fabric store in ONE?? YES!
I’m talking about Urban Basics in Battle Ground. If you've got time to poke around, this is the place!
This was the gorgeous view of not just one mountain (Mt Hood in the foreground) but of FOUR in ONE photo!
It could not have been more perfect weather for flying as we left Portland, Oregon on Tuesday afternoon.
I was headed home.
I enjoyed all of the gorgeous views, taking quick notice, and heads up from hexies as the captain came over the audio system saying “For passengers on the left side of the plane, we are now passing over Wyoming and there is a great view of the Grand Tetons below.”
I instantly had my camera poised and ready at my window:
Yes, I know that I said I would do this drawing on Monday evening, last evening –but if it were you and you were busy sewing and chatting and hanging with a group of fabulous quilters on your last night of retreat – would you pull yourself away to go chain yourself to a laptop to write a blog post instead?
No, I didn’t think so either! LOL!
Besides, while I was here on the west coast, by the time it was 7pm here and my usual time to do evening blog updates, most of the east coast and all of Europe would still be in bed. So I made an executive decision.
I have many great photos of fun show & share from yesterday, but this morning I am off to the airport and I decided to spend the remaining time with the quilters lingering at breakfast as well, and that post can happen TOMORROW. From fast internet. Instead of me fighting big posts all the way. Deal?
Oh, how quiet this room was as everyone trundled down the hill to the dining hall at Royal Ridges Retreat as the dinner bell rang!
Meals are promptly and expertly served at 8am, 12 noon and 5pm –I’m beginning to feel as well fed as the 50 horses stabled up here!
My belly has never been happier. There have been gluten free and vegetarian options at every meal.
In fact, just the other morning I was running a bit behind because the blog was taking so long to upload on slow internet, that by the time I arrived, my gluten free pancakes were waiting for me in the warmer, and they were DELICIOUS!
(I like my pancakes with peanut butter and real maple syrup. It’s been an obsession since childhood!)
Dinner last night was barbequed chicken, sweet potato casserole or mashed redskin potatoes (or both!) and a huge tossed salad with all of the fixin’s. There was home made cornbread on the side, both gluten free and regular, and dessert was amazing.
Go hungry on retreat? Not a chance!
We needed all of this fuel for our Scrap Crystals Workshop!
I’ve received a lot of emails after yesterday’s blog post mentioning the bullying that is going on toward professionals within our quilt community from a select group of secret conservative quilters who wish to rid the quilt world of unsavory types and those who are different than they are.
The word “BULLY” has received a lot of hype in the past, and in many good ways has drawn attention to where things needed to be addressed.
In my case, it’s a little bit different. This is not about "that" group, but it is along the same lines.
I wish to tell you a story. One that has been kept silent for far too long thinking my effort to not address the situation, thinking it would just go away on its own, was the best route to take.
There is always a bit of horsing around happening at retreat, but this is the first time it happened with REAL horses for me!
We’ve enjoyed watching the horses in the arena outside of our retreat room windows.
Royal Ridges Retreat has 50 horses in the summer for summer camp programs for adults and children, and it is just a wonderful place to stay and connect with nature.
I have not been on a horse in more than 10 years….and oh, my hind quarters are feeling it!
I gave a presentation yesterday morning to the Quiltville Fans of Washington, group #1!
What fun to simply talk about something we all love – scrap quilting, and how it has affected our lives for the better. I love just having a “fireside” type chat with small groups. It’s so personal, and I love it when hands go up in the middle of what I’m saying so we can dive even deeper. You ask, I’ll answer!
Unless you want to know just how many sewing machines I have – that number is unknown and off topic, even for me!
(Hey, I’m down 5 from my last trip…oh, no…make that 4, I acquired 1! Oops!)
We talked about everything from thread to batting and scrap storing and usage and we had a great time.
But the best – by far – was the Show & Share brought by others. It was EPIC. Seriously!
And I loved that these ladies knew me enough to also bring some of their vintage treasures with them.
It takes me right back to my childhood when summers were long and leisurely and there was time for seeing things, doing things, and also doing NOTHING.
The sunshine came yesterday morning, bright and beautiful against the mossy green surroundings and as I walked to the dining hall for breakfast, I took in deep breaths, committing this magical place to memory.
It’s just a wonderful place to let go, to make new, to rediscover.
And I know I am not the only one who felt this way yesterday as doors and windows were opened in our workshop space to let the freshness in.
It was a long travel day, but worth every hour and every mile that it took to get from coast to coast as I made my way from North Carolina to Washington State yesterday.
I had plenty of handwork at hand, and a beautiful sunrise to start me on my journey.
We’ve been waiting for this week for years.
I first started communicating with Sonya and Robin at least 3 years ago with the plans of pulling together Quiltville Fans from near and far and having our own no frills retreat. It’s not sponsored by a guild or a shop, just the brain child of a couple of very hard working ladies, and we filled it full to the brim – TWO sessions!
I’ll have one free day in the middle to relax and unwind, and as one group leaves, the other will arrive. And the best part? I get to stay in one place for a week without having to lug a suitcase or put another 200 miles on the van to get me from one location to the other!
Two back to back retreats await, sponsored by the Quiltville Fans of Washington!
Who even knew there WAS such an organization? I think my family is quite impressed that they named our retreat that. And it’s been on the calendar for several years, just waiting waiting WAITING for May 2017 to finally come around. I hope it can become a regular event! Wouldn’t that be fun?
So in celebration, and because I am headed to the airport at the ungodly hour of 5:15am to fly from Greensboro to Atlanta and finally on to Portland, Oregon I’ve got a MAY QUILTY BOXto gift away to someone!
And this is one that is not to be missed. I gasped when I opened this box and petted everything.
It’s an ALEX ANDERSON box! And you never saw a ribbon fly off of a fat-quarter bundle so quickly because I wanted to see them ALL SPREAD OUT.
Quilty Box is a monthly subscription box of fun quilting supplies. We offer plans from $44-48/mo.
5% of the profits of multi-month subscriptions are donated to Quilts for Kids - a non-profit which donates quilts for children in need
Each month we have 4 or more products (fabric, patterns, thread, or notions)
Our retail value of the products in the box is always more than $60
June's Quilty Box Featured Artist will be Masako Wakayama from CribQuilt.com.
The next Quilty Box will ship around June 11th. Subscribers will need to purchase before June 10th to receive this shipment.
We will be using the hashtags #QuiltyBox and #GetQuilty
Your support is appreciated. If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to contact me.
Get Quilty!
Patrick Claytor, CEO patrick@quiltybox.com QuiltyBox.com
I love knowing that part of the proceeds go to benefit kids. To me that is a win/win all the way around!
So let’s check out what is in this fabulous box this month:
And I am always excited to see what you have done with the fabrics you love, be it a bed-sied quilt, a table runner, a wall hanging, a pot holder, or in this case a fabulous TOTE made with Pineapple Crazy blocks, crazily reduced in size to be even SMALLER!
Sylvia brought her tote to class in Linthicum, Maryland this past weekend and we all went nuts over it. It’s GORGEOUS!
She said the funniest thing is when people ask her where she got the printed “FABRIC” for the tote.
And then she has to pick them up off the floor when she explains that it isn’t one piece of printed fabric, this is her patchwork – all of the precious tiny saved pieces!
How cool is this??
The block pattern for Pineapple Crazy is found in my book String Fling.
Being as it was Mother’s Day weekend, there was also a special event happening at St Paul’s Lutheran church where our workshops were happening.
Mother’s Day weekend and Thanksgiving weekend there is a special service to bless all of the quilts and comfort blankets destined for Lutheran World Relief.
The small side chapel with pews covered in comfort quilts!
The main sanctuary ALSO covered!
What an amazing sight!
These comfort quilts are evidence of “many hands at work” and will cover those in need with cheery color, bright and happy patterns as they are distributed around the world to those in need. There were also fleece blankets perfectly small for handing to little children who have so little.
It just did my heart good to see so much good coming from the heart!
Enjoy the rest of shared quilts in the slide snow below:
Yesterday morning’s drive was easy and uneventful, back roads all the way. I loved it – I really hate driving up I-95, and taking 29 through Charlottesville, VA all the way to Greensboro, NC was just the ticket. I’ll use this route again. I’ll take the route through the mountains any chance I get!
a 3 hour nap soon followed upon my return home, and it was great to have everyone else take care of dinner. Steaks on the grill, a great salad, baked potatoes with all of the fixings…full belly happy mama! And Jeff surprised his mama when he walked in bearing a bouquet of flowers for Mother’s Day. Perfect. Just perfect.
And this girl.
I just sat on the front porch swing for quite a while. Just sitting, swinging, and listening to birds. Lovely evening and so glad to be home.
A bit of evening stitching!
These are the string snowball blocks I started before heading out to VA/MD. Pretty brainless, and easy evening sewing without having to match points or worry about seam allowance.
Morning trim up!
It doesn’t take much to make this girl happy!
This is a very short “layover” at home. I have just today to get ready for tomorrow’s flight to Portland, Oregon and then up to Washington State to teach for two back to back Quiltville Fans of Washington retreats. Oh boy.
Get more than 60 orders out the door by Post Office closing time today, repack the trunk show and the suit case and be ready to head to the airport at 4:45am tomorrow morning.
How I am going to do this?
Quiltville Quote of the Day!
Vintage quilt found in Virginia.
First things first, second things second. Put things on the list, cross them off one thing at a time, and don’t forget to BREATHE!
Yes, it was still raining – just a bit here and there. A spit and a spot, with dark and heavy grey clouds slowly moving overhead – leaving us wondering if they were going to just let loose and dump it all on us, or were they simply flirting – making us only AWARE that the sky could really open up any time it chose to do so.
Fickle fickle weather this week!
Luckily, by lunch time things had mostly moved on. Besides, we were inside sewing! The critical part was just getting all of the machines inside, keeping them dry in the process.
But we don’t mind – we can put the yardwork on hold and gather together and sew our hearts and brains out, build new friendships, strengthen old ones and have a roaring good time sewing up the scraps instead, all comfy inside!
Yesterday’s Blue Ridge Beauty class was sponsored by the Friendship Quilters of Linthicum and the Eternal Quilters of Glen Burnie, and held at Christ Lutheran Church in Millersville.
A full day of scrap happy fun working with simple units such as the 4-patch and half square triangle, but oh so many ways to do them!
I heard from many that they learned things that they didn’t know before, and that makes me so happy. If that’s the case, I am doing my job.
Workshops are LESS about the quilt we are making, and MORE about the techniques that will be used in future quilts down the road, things that make us better at a craft we love so dearly.
"Old Dominion" is an old nickname for the commonwealth of Virginia.
As one of the 13 colonies, the colony of Virginia became the Dominion of Virginia.
As a new Virginia landowner, it's fun for me to learn these little tidbits.
I hit the mother-lode of quilts, quilt tops, vintage machines AND depression glass while on my “day to play” in Manassas.
All that was on my agenda was an evening guild meeting, which left the afternoon wide open for some exploring.
I was told there were great quilt shops in the area. And I love quilt shops. But I wasn’t in search of more fabric, and I wanted to spend a day in my jeans, tshirt, ponytail and running shoes just wandering. I didn’t want to be recognized or be “ON”. That was being saved for the evening.
The best place for me to wander and poke around? Antique malls.
I am so grateful for a smart phone and a GPS! They can get me anywhere.
Take a look at this photo. What do you see? Count the machines.
Our workshop space was such a nice fellowship room at the local Seventh Day Adventist church – great lighting, kitchen attached, and a big wall of windows so that we had natural light and the vibrant green of spring pouring in from outside.
The only thing we wished was that we could SEW outside on such a beautiful day!
I loved making my Scrap Crystals quilt – bonus triangle bonanza, as I used many bonus triangles from other projects to be my star points, making the remainder needed from easy strip sets.
My class got busy with the Essential Triangle Tool, building their variety by working from short strip sets (Try for no more than 6 pairs from any strip set so you don’t have too much of one thing going on!) and by lunch time some units were coming together!
“Get There” days are some of my favorite days of all. Time to explore a bit without a hurry hurry hurry on the agenda.
And when I’m driving myself, my journey can take me a bit off of the direct path and include things of meaning to me.
Being an unabashed lover of history, and wanting to understand what previous generations went through in the forming of our country, I am always stopping to read the little grey marker signs along the highway (When it is safe to pull over) or visiting historic sites.
And yes, that even includes the giant bare naked bum of “The Vulcan” in Birmingham as well as civil war battlefields.
I spent yesterday exploring beautiful old town Warrenton, VA! But before I get to those photos, we've got some drawing to do.
Let's let the random number generator put an end to the suspense and choose our two lucky winners from 3597 entries in our Road Rally blog tour for Quiltmaker Magazine’s 100 blocks by 100 designers, volume 15!
Boy, that’s a mouth full!
It’s been a great tour, and I enjoyed meeting the other designers as I read their blogs and learned more about them, their styles, their lives, and the thread that ties us together – QUILTING!
I am also very excited about my block, still as yet un-re-named by me, but found as Sawthooth Flutter. (Just what IS that?!?) in the issue! Hahaha!
Truth be told, I haven’t had time to read all of the suggestions as I am on the road, but I’m weighing each one and will let you know what I come up with.
In the mean time, I can’t wait to dive into making more of these fun blocks!
You can find the original give-away post HEREwith more information about my block.
All colors, all styles of fabrics, so much variety!
This quilt is likely my favorite from the Addicted to Scraps Book. And I’m hearing from so many that it is their favorite too!
I love blocks that can be made simply out of two different strip widths using specialty tools like the Essential Triangle Tool for half square triangles, and my students were falling in love with the easy of construction from simple strip widths for this block that has so many possibilities.
While I made my quilt with recycled fabrics from clothing, we had everything from batik to civil war repros to 1930s repros and beyond.
I spent the day yesterday with a wonderful group of 28 in our Pfeffernusse workshop from my book String Fling sponsored by the Stone House Quilt Guild and friends in this lovely area of Northern Virginia.
Manassas is saturated in remarkable history and populated by some of the sweetest and kindest and most talented quilters I know!
This is my first time teaching in Virginia since I became a “Virginia Land Owner” myself and it suddenly hit me that I own more land in VA than I do at home – and I can call these folks my NEIGHBORS!
I’m shown here with Denise, who I came to enjoy so much yesterday, She first came up to me, speaking in a low whisper.
“It’s my 50th wedding anniversary today. And I’m spending it with YOU!”
It has rained and rained and rained more than I have ever seeen it rain in the 9 years I’ve lived in North Carolina.
It poured all night before I headed out yesterday morning.
And I was pretty worried about the rain, after all I had driven through last month on my way to Birmingham through tornado warnings and hail and all.
“Enough with the rain already!” I shouted to the sky as I headed out in an ongoing pitter patter, my first stop being the post office to drop off mail order before I could steer Moby onto the highway, and then to the interstate, and finally point myself toward Virginia.
Mona sent this picture yesterday of the New River in Grayson County where the cabin is – the New River has overflown its banks.
ENOUGH RAIN already!
I made it to Richmond in fairly good time, met up with some friends for lunch, much visiting and much laughter, and pulled out back onto the road amidst another raging downpour. And the sun was shining as if to mock me – deluge of a downpour, AND sunshine making the glare nearly impossible to see anything.
“Thanks a lot!” I said to the sky and continued on my way.
Welcome to my day on the Road Rally for Quiltmaker Magazine’s 100 blocks by 100 designers – VOLUME 15!!!
I am super excited as this makes my 14th consecutive issue.
Every issue has been a challenge.
And just as soon as we get done submitting for one issue, within a couple of months it’s time to turn on the thinking cap for what might be a good block idea for the next one.
And the competition gets steeper.
Now all blocks are submitted and reviewed before being accepted, and my goodness, what talented designers are out there designing their hearts out – FOR YOU!
Quiltmaker Magazine has also stepped up this whole blog tour process including MORE designers, more chances to win, more prizes and more fun!
If this is your first time visiting me, welcome! My name is Bonnie Hunter, and I write the Addicted to Scraps column for Quiltmaker.
It was a GREAT night for some Quilt-Cam fun on Facebook Live last evening.
Not only because it had been a while since we had a chance to just sit and relax, but because it is now still LIGHT at 8pm and I feel like I have so much more energy when it is still light out. Does that happen to you too?
In the winter when it is dark early, I’m ready for bed 2 hours past dark. But SUMMER is on the way, and I love the light evenings.
I’m simply solar powered, no doubt about it.
I also was super excited to get going on a long lost project that had somehow misplaced its direction – in other words – WHAT the heck was I doing with these nine patches? What quilt were they going to go in? Why did I make 184 of these and let them be forgotten??
With the next couple of days at home to prepare, I’m prettying up some of my little ladies and getting them ready to go on the road with me.
I need some space. These machines deserve to be loved in a home where they are used, and used often!
I want to make sure that everything is in tip top shape so wiring has been checked, they’ve been oiled and lubricated, shined and adjusted, new needles put in and stitch samples sewn.
In most cases they are going for just what I have in them plus the cost of new parts. Some machines were adopted without bobbin cases or cords or foot pedals. Most needed new bobbin tires or belts.
I was packed, ready to go, I made the hairpin turn down the drive and stopped in my tracks.
What’s that I see laying across the road?
Oh no. Just NO.
SERIOUSLY??
It has been a very wet week, and the edge of a rather large storm had blown through within the past couple of hours while I was packing up, and Sadie WAS extremely jittery. But after it had blown over, all seemed to be fine, until –TREE DOWN!
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Evidently, Sadie heard it. I didn’t!
I put the van in park, and hiked back up to the cabin to spread the news. The Hubster was on a conference call and was going to meet me in town later for dinner with friends Rick and Mona.
“Tree down? REALLY?!” I could hear the Tim the Tool Man “Argh argh argh” and see the light in his eyes as he instantly switched into lumberjack mode - we gathered up the chainsaw, headed back down in the RZR to check out what needed to be done.
This morning I am in what can only be best described as a “Benedryl Coma.”
What was barely starting to leaf out when I arrived last Tuesday evening has gone into full leaf emergence mode.
Oh, the pollen! Oh, the allergies! Oh, how much I love spring more than any other season, in spite of what it does to these eyes of mine.
I don’t need to do any online searching to verify what I already know.
My eyes are the first thing to tell me that pollen levels are high. Itchy, gritty, watery, sticky and burning.
Out come the antihistamine eye drops, the allegra tablets in the morning, the itch relief eye drops for intermittent use, and last night – as a last resort, a benedryl chaser before bed time.
